Mercenaries - Weapon FAQ

Any site may serve this FAQ provided the following:
(1) The site is capable of displaying the content of this page between PRE
and /PRE as HTML.
(2) The images associated with the FAQ are served and managed on a non-IGN
media server.
(3) The FAQ is presented verbatim, with the original author byline.
(4) The site may not be a property of, have any affiliation with, is a partner
to, or made any deal concerning content sharing with CNET Networks, Inc.
(5) The latest versions of the document, graphic, and other errata will always
be available on FAQS.IGN.COM
Mercenaries
Playground of Destruction
_________________________
Weapons and Where To Get 'Em Cheap
A weapon's help file associated with it will not appear until you finish off
the Two of Clubs mission, then enter and exit the AN HQ (presumably to start
your next assignment). Once the ability to save your game is installed, the
weapon help files will start to accumulate. Note that if you are in a mission
and pick up a new weapon, the game will occasionally glitch and not allow
create a weapon help file, but will assume that it already did. This will
explain why some of your weapons may not have associated help files in the
PDA. Don't worry about not having these e-mails in your PDA -- they don't
serve much of a purpose except as bathroom reading; however, few if any,
people play their PS2 or Xbox while sitting on the can. If you do, send me a
picture so I can laugh at you.
Ammo is universal only from the green ammo bins you find on the field. The
amount of ammo you regain is variable (the more powerful the weapon, the less
ammo you restore). However, ammo for a particualr weapon stacks only with the
same weapon. If you have a Carbine and kill a bunch of enemies who used
Assault Rifles, your Carbine will not refill its ammo unless you find either
other Carbines or the ubiquitous green ammo tin. If you have a particularly
rare weapon, keep that in mind -- your only method of restocking ammo is to
Medivac (or die; dying is easier and faster -- both cost the same amount of
money), find a dropped version of the same weapon, or locate and pick-up a
green ammo tin.
In order of appearance ...Carbine (Colt M4A Series)

Magazine - 30 rounds

Reserve - 180 rounds

Provided In
- Allied Supply Drop
- South Korean Supply Drop
Your merc get this free when you start the game, but the help file associated
with it will not appear until you finish off the Two of Clubs mission, then
enter and exit the AN HQ (presumably to start your next assignment). Once the
ability to save your game is installed, the weapon help files will start to
accumulate. The Carbine's main strength is its moderate accuracy over long
range. Compared to the Assault Rifle, the Carbine is more accurate. For
sniping targets at great distances however, stick with a Sniper Rifle. This
weapon is available in South Korean and Allied Supply Drops. AN "blue-hats"
and South Korean (ROK) forces have this weapon. If you happen to come across a
chopper crash or a nuked APC, you can pick up free Carbines.
Assault Rifle (Soviet AK Series)

Magazine - 30 rounds

Reserve - 120 rounds

Provided In
- North Korean Supply Drop
- Chinese Supply Drop
This is the most common weapon you'll find in the whole game, namely because
the North Korean forces you face most of the time use it incessantly. If you
have a fear of running out of ammo, or constantly picking fights with North
Korean forces in the game, consider using this weapon. It does not carry much
ammo, but you never have a fear of running out since 60% of the soldiers in
the game have this weapon. If you're opposing Chinese soldiers, the majority
of them carry this weapon as well. The Chinese and North Korean Supply Drops
have this weapon, if you ever need it. More prosaically, killing any Chinese
or DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) soldier will bag this weapon.
Light Machinegun (Degtarev Series)

Magazine - 100 rounds

Reserve - 200 rounds

Provided In
- Special Weapon Supply Drop
This is perhaps the best overall weapon you'll use for the game. It is free if
you hunt down almost any member of the Deck of 52 and occasionally some North
Korean heavy soldiers will be firing this at you. The LMG is fairly accurate
at close range, powerful, and has a large magazine capacity (if you're not
cheating). This makes it almost perfect for most of your contracts involving
up-close work. If you find one, it's advisable to keep it -- you almost never
run out of ammo (you usually die before that happens). The only sure fire way
to get this weapon is through the Special Weapons Supply Drop, which is
available rather late in the game (and after enough extra bounties are
accumulated). Try not to trade this weapon away unless you have a good reason
to do so.
RPG (Chinese/Soviet RPG)

Magazine - 1 round

Reserve - 3 rounds

Provided In
- North Korean Supply Drop
- Chinese Supply Drop
You can actually pick up an RPG at the North Korean roadblock when you start
the game. However, few people will stop if they can blast past. RPGs are
rather common in the game, since the RPG soldiers who have a knack of killing
your merc usually appear in large groups in some missions or areas. RPGs are
unguided rockets that do a lotta damage to humans and can destroy light
vehicles such as jeeps and Humvees. They are great for stationary targets, but
not a good idea for fast moving targets like choppers. RPGs are common enough
for you to pick-up, use, then ditch when the ammo is out. Frankly, it is
generally a bad idea to lug around a weapon that only has only a few shots.
The Chinese and North Korean Supply Drops have this weapon (and one more that
escapes memory at the moment), but you'll find this weapon often enough.
Submachinegun (Norinco/Jatimatic)

Magazine - 45 rounds

Reserve - 180 rounds

Provided In
- Chinese Supply Drop
The Chinese and some North Koreans are fond of this small weapon. It has the
firepower of an assault rifle but a frame smaller than a carbine. It is very
inaccurate at any range beyond point blank (i.e., the range where you can take
down an enemy). Most of the time, a full size rifle can destroy an enemy using
an SMG. Save these kinds of weapons for hunting zombies in Racoon City (i.e.,
Mercenaries 2: Operation Krezzy Zombie Rescue). If you are fighting numerous
enemies and absolutely need to kill something from far, far away, use a Sniper
Rifle or an assault rifle. The SMG has 15 rounds more than the 30 round banana
clips, but compares unfavourably with the Carbine.
Covert SMG (Various manufacture)

Magazine - 30 rounds

Reserve - 180 rounds

Provided In
- Covert Supply Drop
Silencers have their use beyond fictional spy films (i.e., James Bunt).
Silenced weapons are good for not-alerting nearby enemies if you need to kill
an enemy soldier. However, the stealth system in the game is rather poor --
once the enemy fires his weapon or shouts an alarm, the alert goes to full.
Since the damage of this weapon is even less than the standard SMG, you're
probably better off using the melee button to knock out guards and lone
sentries.
Shotgun (Various manufacture)

Magazine - 7 rounds

Reserve - 35 rounds

Provided In
- Russian Supply Drop
The Russians (and one number terrorist) occasionally tote a shotgun. These
weapons are more for civil defence (hence the euphemism, 'Burglar Gun') than
for actual combat. However in close quarter environments, sharpnel fired from
shotguns are usually lethal. In the game though, your merc never enters any
interior (except in rare cases), prefering to air-strike a building instead
(let's see you terrorists hide now ... KAABOOOM) so the shotgun is rather
useless. Shotguns are interesting to pick=up for the help e-mail, but has no
real use in a game such as Mercs. If you do use it, you'll be impressed by its
killing power up-close; however, the only enemies you really want to go up
close to are the Deck of 52. Lethal force is often less profitable than non-
lethal measures, so you'll wind up in the poor house if you rely on the
shotgun.
Sniper Rifle (Soviet SVD)

Magazine - 10 rounds

Reserve - 30 rounds

Provided In
- Sniper Rifle Drop
- Sniper Supply Drop
This is definitely another keeper weapon. Even if you think you're an "Army Of
One", the ten billion North Korean guys firing at your merc will turn him into
Butt Gravy in about 0.2 seconds (tank assisted). The sniper is one of the few
weapons that can fire while your view is zoomed in. It is also one of the few
weapons you can get for free (from a Russian mission) if you "follow the
script" and take the supply drop provided. You can always cancel a contract
and then restart it once you pick up the sniper rifle (to keep it). If you
lose your sniper rifle and need to buy it back again, keep in mind that the
Supply Drop is cheaper than the Rifle drop (don't ask why). The Rifle Drop you
can get fairly early in the game while the Supply Drop is rather late in the
game (after extra bounties are accrued). Stick with this weapon -- it will
save your life.
Anti-Air Missile (Stinger/Silkworm)

Magazine - 1 rounds

Reserve - 2 rounds

Provided In
- Heavy Weapons Drop
The anti-air missile is a guided missile designed only to attack choppers. The
explosive damage is less than the anti-tank missile, but most choppers go down
in one or two AAM strikes (except the NK Gunship). Use this weapon sparingly --
it has even less ammo than the RPG and its use is limited (vs. choppers). You
can lunch it unguided, but without a reticule, targeting is difficult. Call
one down only if you can really need one -- usually, airstrikes can deal with
most problems. Few North Korean soldiers will carry this weapon, but they are
favourites of ROK and Chinese forces. Some AN soldiers may have them, but
getting them to drop their weapons is more difficult unless you're willing to
risk faction loss.
Anti-Tank Missile (Dragon2, DARD, and similar)

Magazine - 1 rounds

Reserve - 2 rounds

Provided In
- Heavy Weapons Drop
The anti-tank missile is a guided missile designed only to attack ground
vehicles (tanks, missile carriers, jeeps, et al.). The explosive damage is
better than the RPG and can set tanks "on fire". Once a vehicle is "on fire",
it has less than 20 seconds of life remaining. The vehicular life slowly
dribbles to zero; once it does, the vehicle explodes. Use this weapon
sparingly -- it has less ammo than the RPG and its use is limited (vs. tanks
usually). You can lunch it unguided, but without a reticule, targeting is
difficult especially against fast moving choppers. Call one down only if you
can really need one -- usually, airstrikes such as the TankBuster can deal
with most problems. Some North Korean troops will have this weapon -- but
you'll usually find them only after you're inside a tank. In the southern
province, an AN soldier near Garrett's HQ will occasionally be spawned with
this weapon. Head over (you only need to 'fog' the map to cause certain
soldiers to respawn) and see if he's walking around.
Anti-Armor Rifle (Barret .50 Cal)

Magazine - 5 rounds

Reserve - 15 rounds

Provided In
- Special Weapons Drop
The anti-armor rifle is basically a bigger version of the Sniper Rifle. It
does more damage to vehicles than the sniper rifle, but its damage still pales
when compared to explosives. The only reason to use it is if the weapon is
free and you happen to like the look (or lack the money to call airstrikes).
The anti-armor rifle is pretty bad over all, since it and the Sniper Rifle can
pierce most armor of light vehicles and choppers already. However, the sniper
rifle has 40 rounds while the anti-armor rifle only has 20. When you run out
of ammo, that neat looking piece of equipment on your merc's back suddenly
becomes the heaviest liability in your arsenal. If you have the money to make
replacements, pick it and try it out on a few missions; overall, the sniper
rifle is more cost-efficient. Few, if any random enemies have this weapon.
Only certain enemies tied to Deck 52 terrorists will have them. Once the Deck
of 52 terrorist is incapacitated, the opportunity to get this weapon free is
gone until your next play.
Prototype Rifle

Magazine - 100 rounds

Reserve - 200 rounds

Provided In
- Advanced Weapons Drop
This gun, if it didn't have penetration problems, would've been the best
weapon in the game! Unfortunately, it is only mediocre since it compares
mostly with the light machinegun. The prototype rifle is more accurate than
the light machinegun, and it has the ability to let the shooter fire while
zoomed in (like a sniper rifle). However, the round does not penetrate thin
armor like the sniper rifle or anti-armor rifle, so you cannot snipe friendly
(AN) chopper pilots and take their rides. It is a good substitute for the
light machinegun -- but remember that your merc's binoculars will not work
unless you have a weapon that does not use zoom. Some of the super-cute, super-
hot female ROK female special forces soldiers with the tight butts hanging
around the Northern Province near Chongju and the Chongju Farm area may have
this weapon. Melee bash them if you really want this weapon for free,
otherwise, buy it.
C4 Demo Charge

Reserve - 4 charges

Provided In
- Demolitions Supply Drop
- Allied Supply Drop
- Covert Supply Drop
C4 is the most powerful building destroyer your merc has, bar the airstrikes.
Sometimes, you need C4 to destroy signal jammers so your air-strike request
can be made. C4 is rare, so you can only get it through certain supply drops;
you rarely find them in bulk anywhere on the map. Luckily the Demo Supply Drop
gives your merc a full stock of four charges (use up your C4 before you call
in a Demo Drop). It is also fairly cheap once you get a few million dollars in
the bank. C4 can be placed on vehicles, but they will slide off if sharp turns
are made (they are not sticky). Place more than one C4 charge by selecting the
option again once the previous charge is set.
Frag Grenade

Reserve - 6 grenades

Provided In
- Demolitions Supply Drop
- Various supply drops
Frag and Flash grenades share the same "ammo pick-up". Take up a grenade rack
and both grenade types are restocked to the maximum. Frag grenades are best
used against concentrations of enemies. They are not for destroying vehicles
or buildings, regardless of what Contra or Ikari Warriors taught you on the
NES. Frag grenades can destroy light vehicles if enough are detonated near
them; use something heavier for tanks. Your merc can "cook" grenades by
holding the grenade key. Release it to throw the grenade before it explodes or
your merc will be unnecessarily damaged.
Flash Grenade

Reserve - 6 grenades

Provided In
- Demolitions Supply Drop
- Various supply drops
Frag and Flash grenades share the same "ammo pick-up". Take up a grenade rack
and both grenade types are restocked to the maximum. Flash grenades are non-
lethal, and should be selected as your first choice (the Xbox triggers tend to
be hit accidently, depending on how you play). In general, you can flash
enemies and they will be stunned while your merc makes his or her escape.
Flash grenades are perfect for stunning terrorists so your merc can close in
and take them down without being shot up. A flash grenade's effects work
through walls and other seemingly impassable objects, so you need to be aware
that the effect can leak through the wall and stun your merc; alternately, you
can flash a terrorist on the other side of a low wall, jump over and take him
down.
I like people; that's why I kill 'em.
simalcrum@hotmail.com